Age Verification LawsUS states
Tennessee age verification laws
Two laws took effect on 1 January 2025: adult sites must check every visitor's age, again after each hour, and social media companies must verify the age of everyone opening an account, with a parent's consent under 18.1, 2
Checked 1 November 2026 against the sources.
Tennessee's two laws
| Law | What it requires | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Protect Tennessee Minors ActSB 1792, Public Chapter 1021 (2024) | Sites where a third or more of the data is content harmful to minors must verify the age of each visitor with a reasonable age verification method.1 | Can be enforced |
| Protecting Children from Social Media ActHB 1891, Public Chapter 899 (2024) | Social media companies must verify the age of anyone who tries to open an account, and need a parent's express consent for minors, meaning under 18.2 | In force |
Adult sites: the Protect Tennessee Minors Act
Three things stand out: the check method, how long a check lasts, and the penalty.1 How age checks work
A live photo, an ID, and an hour
The law accepts matching a photo of you, taken on the device you are using at the time, to the photo on a valid state-issued ID, or a commercially reasonable check based on transactional data such as mortgage, education or employment records. A verified session lasts for the session or 60 minutes, whichever is shorter, and then the site must check again.1
What is kept, and the penalty
No personally identifying information after access is granted, but at least seven years of anonymized records that prove checks were done. Breaking the check or retention rules is a Class C felony, and the Attorney General can sue. A site can also be sued for damages.1
Questions people ask
Does Tennessee have an age verification law?
Do existing social media accounts have to be verified?
The law applies to account holders whose accounts were created on or after 1 January 2025.2
Why do adult sites ask again after an hour in Tennessee?
The law ends a verified session after the session or 60 minutes, whichever comes first, and requires a new check after that.1
Is Tennessee's social media law blocked?
No. The district court refused to block it on 20 June 2025, and the appeal was heard on 4 February 2026.4
Sources 4
- Public Chapter No. 1021 (2024), Senate Bill 1792, Protect Tennessee Minors Act, Tennessee Secretary of State. Read 1 November 2026 from the Internet Archive copy of 14 May 2026.
- Public Chapter No. 899 (2024), House Bill 1891, Protecting Children from Social Media Act, Tennessee Secretary of State, and its bill history (signed 13 May 2024), Tennessee General Assembly. Read 1 November 2026 from Internet Archive copies of 2026.
- Free Speech Coalition v. Skrmetti, No. 24-6158, order granting a stay, 13 January 2025, US Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit (as filed on Supreme Court docket 23-1122). Read 1 November 2026.
- NetChoice v. Skrmetti (Tennessee), case timeline, NetChoice (the challenger). Read 1 November 2026 from the Internet Archive copy of 25 September 2026.
Every fact here comes from the law or the court, checked again and dated. How we check
Social media: HB 1891
The law covers websites and apps where you create an account and communicate with others through posts. Email, broadband, shopping, career sites, cloud storage, peer-to-peer payments and services built around content the provider chose are excluded.2 Other states' social media laws
Who is checked
The law's account holder is someone whose account was created on or after 1 January 2025. Age, and consent where needed, are checked once at sign-up, and need not be checked again unless a parent revokes consent.2 Neither the company nor a third party may keep the personal information used for the check.2
Parents' tools, and enforcement
Parents must be able to see the minor's privacy settings, set daily time limits and schedule breaks, and can revoke consent. The Attorney General enforces the law under the state's consumer protection act.2